PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) is leading the search and rescue (SAR) operation for 10 missing crewmen of the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain, which collided with a merchant vessel in east Johor waters.
MMEA director-general Admiral Datuk Zulkifili Abu Bakar said the agency was informed of the incident by the Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD Handalan.
“We received information on a collision between the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker, MV Alnic MC, which took place 4.5 nautical miles from Teluk Ramunia, Tompok Utara. The incident occurred at 5.30am in Malaysian waters.
“The SAR mission was launched at 8.45am in collaboration with RMN and marine police. At the moment, three ships, five boats and a helicopter have been deployed,” he told reporters at MMEA headquarters, here, this afternoon.
Zulkifili said the SAR had been divided into sectors, covering 100 nautical miles from the coast.
He added that no oil spill was found at the scene.
He said five injured crewmen from the USS John S. McCain had received treatment at Singapore General Hospital, and all were in stable condition.
Zulkifili said both vessels were coming from South China Sea and about to enter a traffic separation scheme.
“The sea route where the collision happened is a busy area, with not less than 80,000 vessels plying through the area yearly,” he said.
He also clarified that the collision happened in Malaysian waters and not Singaporean waters.
“That’s why we are sending our assets to the scene. We are conducting a separate SAR operation from Singapore. We have yet to establish communications with Singapore, but at the moment, we should not argue where the incident took place, but focus on the SAR operation.
“The assets on the ground are, however, communicating with each other to avoid collision,” he said.
The US Navy has said that 10 sailors are missing, and five were injured, after its destroyer collided with the Liberian-flagged MV Alnic MC.
After the collision, the US warship sailed under its own power to Changi Naval Base, while Alnic MC will also be repaired in Singapore.
It is the second accident involving a US Navy destroyer in Asian waters in two months. The first involved a collision between the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship in Japanese waters near the port city of Yokosuka, and saw seven US sailors killed.